Sally Beauty Holdings fiscal 3Q net income jumps

Beauty-supply retailer and distributor Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. said Thursday its net income more than doubled in its fiscal third quarter as revenue and same-store sales increased.

The company reported profit of $29.4 million, or 16 cents per share, in the three-month period ending in June. That was up from profit of $13.4 million, or 7 cents a share, in the same period last year.

Revenue grew 6.6 percent to $676.8 million from $634.9 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store sales were up 3.4 percent. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is an important retail performance indicator because it measures sales at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Excluding certain items, the company posted adjusted earnings of 13 cents per share.

According to a poll by Thomson Financial, analysts predicted earnings per share of 10 cents on revenue of $669.2 million.

The company said its Sally Beauty Supply segment net sales were up 6.1 percent to $428 million from $403.5 million in the same period last year.

The company said the jump was driven by same-store sales growth of 2.1 percent in the segment.

Shares of Sally Beauty rose 55 cents, or 7.2 percent, to close at $8.17. The stock has ranged from $5.64 to $10.84 over the past year.